Infection control
As gastroenteritis can be very infectious, it is important to take steps to prevent it spreading from your child to other children. Even if you isolate your child, it may be possible for adults in your household to spread the infection to other children without realising it. Recommended steps include:
- Encourage your child to wash their hands thoroughly after going to toilet, and before eating.
- Thoroughly clean the potty or toilet using disinfectant after each episode of diarrhoea and vomiting. Make sure that you include the handle and the seat.
- Wash your hands regularly, particularly after changing a nappy or cleaning a potty.
- Do not share your child’s towels, flannels, cutlery or eating utensils with other members of your household.
- Do not allow your child to return to nursery or school until 48 hours have passed since their last episode of diarrhoea and vomiting.
- Do not allow your child to enter a swimming pool for the first two weeks after their last episode of diarrhoea – even though they are free of symptoms, research has found that the rotavirus can spread to other children via the pool water.
Food hygiene
Practising good food hygiene will help your child to avoid getting gastroenteritis as a result of food poisoning. Some ways of achieving this include:
- regularly washing your hands, surfaces and utensils using hot, soapy water
- never storing raw and cooked foods together
- making sure that food is kept properly refrigerated
- always cooking food thoroughly
- never eating food that is past its sell-by date
For more information, see the Health A-Z topic on food poisoning and the Live Well topic on home hygiene.
Rotavirus vaccine
There is a licensed vaccine in England that protects children against rotavirus gastroenteritis, known as Rotarix.
Rotarix is available as a liquid that is sprayed into your baby’s mouth. Two doses are given, with at least four weeks between each dose.
Ideally, the vaccine should be given before a baby is 16 weeks old. It must be given before a baby is 24 weeks old or it will not be effective.
Side effects of rotarix include:
These side effects are usually mild and should resolve with time.
Rotarix is not given as part of the routine childhood immunisation schedule, and is not usually available free of charge on the NHS. This is because it is currently felt that the public health risks posed by the rotavirus are not serious enough to justify routine immunisation.
If you want to vaccinate your baby, you are likely to have to pay a fee. Fees can vary across private practices from around £60 to £100 a dose.
